Aniuzka Kazandjian works at the National Herbarium of New South Wales, located at the Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan. She is a plant systematist with nearly two decades of experience in herbarium curation – both nationally and internationally.
Aniuzka oversees the curation of 98 plant families and the management of over 138,500 herbarium specimens, augmenting and conserving the collection to international standards.
She maintains the collection to reflect current knowledge of plant relationships including upgrading each herbarium specimen to reflect its new taxonomic designation. Aniuzka is also leading the processing and curation of approximately 8,000 weed specimens donated by the Tamworth Agricultural Institute, a valuable research resource that will give insights into weed distribution and characteristics in New South Wales.
Aniuzka has a background in education, holds a Master's degree in Biological Sciences from Venezuela and a PhD in Tropical Plant Sciences from James Cook University, Australia. She has been recognised with several scholarships from James Cook University in Townsville, and the Venezuelan Environmental Ministry.
As an Australian born abroad, Aniuzka's favourite plant is the Waratah (Telopiaspeciosissima), which left a lasting impression on her the first time she encountered it in the wild, as its beauty exceeded anything she had seen in photographs and scientific papers.
As a collection curator, Aniuzka contributes to the endurance of an extensive herbarium collection, ensuring that future generations inherit a rich legacy of botanical information for the understanding of our fast-changing environment.
